1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a surgical instrument container that is exposed to microwave radiation and prevents arcing of a metallic surgical instrument placed therein, and sterilizes in a dry environment.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The constant exposure of dental and medical personnel and instruments to saliva and blood in virtually every dental and medical procedure is an ever present hazard and potential contributor to the transmission of infection. A variety of approved instrument sterilization methods are available. However, all methods have drawbacks in relation to surgical instruments or dental handpieces and burs.
The most commonly used method of sterilization, autoclaving, is damaging for almost all high-speed dental handpieces. In a study of dental handpieces claimed to be autoclavable, deterioration of performance was noted in a simulated 3-month period. Furthermore, autoclaving, without pretreatment in an oil emulsion, will destroy the sharp edge of burs. A second method of sterilization is to apply heat to the instruments. This method has the drawbacks that temperatures of about 160.degree. C. are required while heat generators to rapidly produce such temperatures are not commonly available. The method has further disadvantages in that the rubber and plastic washers and bushings within the dental handpieces could potentially be damaged and long exposure times (approximately 1 hour) are needed.
Gas sterilization with an ethylene oxide mixture is acceptable for both handpieces and burs. However, this is impractical because of cost of equipment, long sterilization and aeration times involved, and cost of providing adequate protection for personnel.
Alkaline glutaraldehyde (2%) will sterilize equipment, but it must be used for 10 hours to kill spore-forming organisms or tuberculosis microorganisms and is irritating to tissue. It must also be constantly monitored as it is not effective when it is more than 2 weeks old.
Another method of sterilization of medical instruments is to scrub them in a detergent solution and wipe them with alcohol. However, because of their serrated or rough hand-grip surfaces, most instruments cannot be disinfected in this way. Except when dry heat is available, no practical method exists for sterilization of dental burs that will not quickly dull the cutting edge.
Sterilization of dental and medical instruments by using microwaves directly and indirectly has been thought of as well. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,019,344; 5,019,359 and 5,039,495 it is disclosed to use microwaves to vaporize a liquid sterilant solution and to expose the instruments to either the vaporized sterilant alone or to both the microwaves and the vaporized sterilant. When using microwaves to sterilize the instruments, the instruments are placed in a shielded and pressurized atmosphere produced by the vaporized sterilant. The pressurized atmosphere prevents arcing and aids in sterilizing the instruments in conjunction with the microwaves.
In another microwave sterilization technique, dental instruments are directly exposed to microwaves within a microwave oven. The instruments may be placed in plastic autoclave bags when exposed. This technique suffers from several shortcomings, such as (1) needing to rotate the objects in a three-dimensional manner within the oven to uniformly heat the instrument; (2) needing to shield the oven from energy not absorbed by the instruments that is reflected back to the oven; and (3) requiring either an absorber of microwaves, such as water, or an absorber of radar waves within the oven to prevent arcing.